Intramontane lacustrine basins in the Siberian Altai: recorders of Cenozoic intracontinental tectonic and climatic events

The Altai Mountains are part of the vast intracontinental Central Asian orogenic system that formed during the Cenozoic as a distal effect of continued indentation of the Indian plate into the Eurasian continent. In the Siberian part of the Altai Mountains there is ample evidence to suggest that the pre-Cenozoic structural fabric of its basement is a controlling factor in the Cenozoic deformation and development of this intracontinental orogen. We give evidence that important Paleozoic fault zones were reactivated during the Cenozoic, particularly the Late Cenozoic and play a key role in the formation, evolution and current morphology of the Siberian Altai Mountains. Some of these faults are still active and recent and historic movements along them have triggered large seismic events. Late Cenozoic reactivation was expressed as pure thrust, oblique thrust to pure strike-slip faulting, resulting in an overall transpressive tectonic regime. In some cases, as for the graben basin of Lake Teletskoye, local, pure extensional stresses are responsible for its formation as we show in this contribution. Various other intramontane, tectonic basins developed. Some of these are very recent structures (the Teletskoye Basin) and are Pleistocene in age or younger, others have a prolonged history and contain a relatively complete Cenozoic sedimentary section, with evidence of Late Mesozoic precursor basins (Chuya Basin, Dzhulukul Basin). Some of these exhibit indications of marine incursions, but the basins are predominantly continental. The development of these basins is clearly associated with the location and Cenozoic reactivation of aforementioned long-lived fault zones in the Altai tectonic assemblage. Many of these basins accommodated fresh water lakes during their evolution and some are still the site of contemporary mountain lakes. Their stratigraphy, as well as the sedimentary architecture and basin morphology is manifestly influenced by and progresses with the stages of (Late) Cenozoic intracontinental mountain building and erosive denudation of the growing mountain ranges. Together with the clastic sedimentary input and the provenance characteristics, the intramontane Altai basin deposits are affected by evolving climatic conditions. These conditions dictate the main mode of erosion and transport, influence the sedimentary facies and supply rate and create the framework for a specific biocoenosis signature found in the fossil record. Our contribution reviews the data obtained over the last years from a selection of intramontane lacustrine basins in the Siberian Altai Mountains. We direct our attention in particular to the Teletskoye basin, the Chuya-Kurai Basin and the Dzhulukul Basin. We combine sedimentologic-stratigraphic data with basin architecture and morphology, and with basement geochronologic-thermochronologic constraints (apatite fission-track, U/Pb and Ar-dating) in order to show the potential of these basins as recorders of Cenozoic tectonic and climatic events in relation with basement features. While for example the data obtained from the Chuya Basin yields a continuous Cenozoic picture of deformation and climatic evolution of the Altai area, data from the Teletskoye Basin zooms in with higher resolution on the Pleistocene to Recent history. In general, all data point towards intensifying tectonic reactivation and mountain building of the Siberian Altai Mountains since the Middle Cenozoic, with clear peak activity in the Pliocene to Recent. This is demonstrated by the molassetype deposits in these basins, and by thermochronologic constraints. This activity is ongoing and structural, (paleo)seismic, geomorphologic and sedimentologic data corroborates this. The lacustrine Altai basins provide a record for a more or less continuous progressive cooling and aridification of the Altai area during the Cenozoic as manifested in the pollen fossil assemblages found in the Altai sediments

Two Novel Amyloid Proteins, RopA and RopB, from the Root Nodule Bacterium Rhizobium leguminosarum

Amyloids represent protein fibrils with a highly ordered spatial structure, which not only cause dozens of incurable human and animal diseases but also play vital biological roles in Archaea, Bacteria, and Eukarya. Despite the fact that association of bacterial amyloids with microbial pathogenesis and infectious diseases is well known, there is a lack of information concerning the amyloids of symbiotic bacteria. In this study, using the previously developed proteomic method for screening and identification of amyloids (PSIA), we identified amyloidogenic proteins in the proteome of the root nodule bacterium Rhizobium leguminosarum. Among 54 proteins identified, we selected two proteins, RopA and RopB, which are predicted to have β-barrel structure and are likely to be involved in the control of plant-microbial symbiosis. We demonstrated that the full-length RopA and RopB form bona fide amyloid fibrils in vitro. In particular, these fibrils are β-sheet-rich, bind Thioflavin T (ThT), exhibit green birefringence upon staining with Congo Red (CR), and resist treatment with ionic detergents and proteases. The heterologously expressed RopA and RopB intracellularly aggregate in yeast and assemble into amyloid fibrils at the surface of Escherichia coli. The capsules of the R. leguminosarum cells bind CR, exhibit green birefringence, and contain fibrils of RopA and RopB in vivo.This work was supported by the Russian Science Foundation, grant 17-16-01100

Experience of image-analysis of rye grain

The article presents the results of image analysis of size and color of rye grains of different color that is controlled by known genes. It was studied 23 samples of rye with the color of the grain visually described as yellow, green, brown and violet. Software GrainScan developed for wheat was adapted for computer analysis of digital images of rye kernels obtained with flatbed scanner. Software along with size allows calculating three-coordinates of color in three-dimensional color space CIEL*a*b*. Based on coordinate values a* and b* calculation of two additional parameters - C* and h* describing the saturation (purity) and tone (the color itself) of the grains, respectively, was made. It is shown that the individual analysis of size and color characteristics of the kernels give low values of standard errors. This allows revealing pairs of forms, which differ from each other for any of the studied parameters. The color of the rye grain cannot be described as the saturated color of one of the tones. In accordance to values of h*, it was possible to divide four visually selected groups into three ones. A composition of groups correspond to lack of anthocyanins in caryopsis (anthocyaninless, yellow-seeded, brown-seeded samples), the presence of anthocyanins in the aleurone layer (green-seeded samples) and the presence of anthocyanins in the pericarp (violet-seeded samples). The data obtained are discussed in connection with literature data on visual description of colors of rye grain, type of pigments, and the coloring of the individual layers of rye kernel

Rich diversity of single-ion magnet features in the linear OCu^IIIO^- ion confined in the hexagonal channels of alkaline-earth phosphate apatites

Following our recent discovery of slow spin relaxation in the unique [(OCuO)-O-III](-) anion located in the apatite-type pigment A(10)(PO4)(6)-(CuxOH1-x-y)(2), where A = Sr, we present the magnetic behavior of this anion for the cases of A = Ca and Ba, which provides evidence for a cation field impact on the properties of a single-ion magnet molecular anion

Angewandte Chemie

Abstract Meeting the challenges of Moore's Law, predicting ambitious miniaturization rates of integrated circuits, requires to go beyond the traditional top?down approaches, and to employ synthetic chemistry methods, to use bottom?up techniques. During the recent decades, it has been shown that open?shell coordination compounds may exhibit intramolecular spontaneous magnetization, thus offering promising prospects for storage and processing of digital information. Against this background we regarded it rewarding to implement similar magnetic centers into a ceramic material, which would provide better long?term mechanical and chemical durability. Here we present new robust inorganic compounds containing separate DyO+ ions in an apatite matrix, which behave like single?molecule magnets. The materials exhibit a blocking temperature of 11?K and an energy barrier for spin reversal of a thousand inverse centimeters which is among the highest values ever achieved

"Isolated" DyO⁺ Embedded in a Ceramic Apatite Matrix Featuring Single-Molecule Magnet Behavior with a High Energy Barrier for Magnetization Relaxation

Meeting the challenges of Moore's Law, predicting ambitious miniaturization rates of integrated circuits, requires to go beyond the traditional top-down approaches, and to employ synthetic chemistry methods, to use bottom-up techniques. During the recent decades, it has been shown that open-shell coordination compounds may exhibit intramolecular spontaneous magnetization, thus offering promising prospects for storage and processing of digital information. Against this background we regarded it rewarding to implement similar magnetic centers into a ceramic material, which would provide better long-term mechanical and chemical durability. Here we present new robust inorganic compounds containing separate DyO+ ions in an apatite matrix, which behave like single-molecule magnets. The materials exhibit a blocking temperature of 11K and an energy barrier for spin reversal of a thousand inverse centimeters which is among the highest values ever achieved

A Co-based single-molecule magnet confined in a barium phosphate apatite matrix with a high energy barrier for magnetization relaxation

An apatite-type barium phosphate with a high content of cobalt ions in the trigonal channels features slow relaxation of magnetization with an energy barrier Ueff of up to 387 cm-1, which is well above the values for all so far known d-metal based single-molecule magnets (SMMs)

TbO⁺ in a calcium apatite matrix featuring a triple trigger-type relaxation of magnetization

Tb for Ca substituted hydroxyapatite ceramic samples with composition Ca10-xTbx(PO4)(6)(OH1-x/2-)(2), where x = 0.1, 0.5, were synthesized by solid-state reaction at 1300 degrees C in air, and their crystal structure, vibrational spectra, luminescence, and magnetic properties were studied. Implanting Tb3+ into the calcium apatite crystal lattice results in formation of an effective TbO+ ion which displays a short terbium-oxygen bond of 2.15 angstrom and a stretching vibration at 534 cm(-1). The Tb3+ electronic structure has been revealed by analyzing the luminescence spectra and dc/ac magnetization data. Accordingly, the ground state represents a pseudo doublet with M-J = +/- 6 and the first exited level is by 112 cm(-1) higher in energy. The ion exhibits field induced magnetic bistability with the magnetization reversing over the first exited state. Three paths of magnetization relaxation with field-temperature controlled switching between the paths have been identified